Jason | Phoebe
Ten years ago,
Phoebe lived in Dali for nearly a year, and at that time I had just opened the restaurant for more than a year.
She studied computer science in college and studied in Japan for a year. After graduation, she worked as a Japanese translator, mostly for a translation agency. At first, she specialized in translating boring patent documents. Later, she went to France to study and also translated French after graduation. Later, she gradually only translated literature, children's picture books, biographies and other content that she liked.
After returning from France, Phoebe has been a freelance translator, earning only enough to make ends meet. She has lived in different places and lives a simple life. She is not an independent woman who can be recognized at first glance. She is small and looks timid. She is also very cautious in her daily life. However, judging from her life choices, she is a very determined person with her own clear way of dealing with life. It is rare to see.
Phoebe, apart from these obvious life choices, doesn't seem to have much of a story. I think it's probably because of my narrative ability, or maybe it's because when she made all the decisions, there was no intense conflict, it seemed to be natural, as it should be, and there was no strong resistance. If there was an opposing party in the process, she probably wouldn't have fought hard, she just did it and let it go.
Every time she moved to a new place, she would slowly take care of her own place, with some things given by friends and some things bought by herself. She was not very fast, but she was very methodical. After she settled down, she did some translation work to earn money. She would procrastinate and then rush to work late into the night when the manuscript was about to be submitted, regretting that she had not used her time well before. She might have used the time before to draw a diary, observe plants, write letters to friends, prepare gifts, and look for gossip on the Internet.
She also writes daily records, which are trivial and long. She goes out to eat alone and observes in the restaurant. When she arrives in a new place, she will observe everything in life, many details, many of which make her curious. When you meet her, she is a quiet person, speaking softly, asking some questions, and rarely expressing sharp opinions.
Next, I will forward some of her articles. You can see how Phoebe, who has returned to Dali, slowly settles down and observes this familiar yet much-changed place during this process.
Her visit to Dali this time was not a major decision, just a change of place to live for a few years. Maybe she will join us as a guide for natural plants and birds, but she said she is not ready yet, maybe next year.
We first met in the blogging era, which is almost 20 years ago. Now, blog is a very old-fashioned word.
Some translations of Phoebe:
Translator: Lü Lingyan
"Sustainable and Beautiful Life" (Japanese) Junko Sakai
"Akioka Yoshio" Muji Books People and Things
"A Small Home" [Japanese] Kato Satoko
Why? (Belgian) Jael van der Hoff
"Bala, bala, disappear!" (France) Michel Escoffier
"Midnight Diner Private Cuisine" (Japanese) Horii Kenichiro; (Japanese) Abe Yaro comic illustrations
The Little Fox's Colors Are Gone (French) by Timothée Le Vieux
Phoebe's notebook:
Phoebe's journal sketches:
